Arsenal, Real Madrid & Barcelona MISS OUT on the 'next Sadio Mane'

Cameron Smith

Updated: 10 Sept 2023 18:15 BST
3 min read

Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are set to miss out on Senegalese wonderkid Amara Diouf, with the teenager set to join FC Metz when he turns 16.

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Diouf is currently 15 years old and will not turn 16 until June 2024, but his transfer to Metz has been agreed, according to French outlet SO Foot.

Diouf currently plays for Senegalese academy side Generation Foot, who have produced the likes of Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Pape Matar Sarr over the years.

In fact, Metz have a very strong relationship with Generation Foot and a total of 27 players have joined the Ligue 2 club from the Senegalese side since 2010. Furthermore, all eight players who left Generation Foot between 2010 and 2015 signed for Metz.

Diouf makes history

At just 15 years and 94 days old, Diouf made his senior Senegal debut against Rwanda on Saturday to become the youngest player to feature for the country’s national team in history.

Furthermore, he was close to scoring on his international debut, but a save from Fiacre Ntwari in the 81st minute prevented a fairytale first cap for Diouf.

- Stunning footwork 🪄
- Quality finishing 😍

This Amara Diouf finish is out of this world 🔥#TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 | @Fsfofficielle pic.twitter.com/sCFx38ZBGi
— CAF (@CAF_Online) May 7, 2023

However, Rwanda’s Olivier Niyonzima netted a 96th minute goal to cancel out Mamadou Lamine Camara’s 66th minute opener. The game ended 1-1.

Earlier this year, Diouf was the top goal-scorer at the U17 Africa Cup of Nations with five goals as Senegal won the tournament. He netted three goals in the group stages before bagging a brace in a 5-0 win against South Africa in the quarter-finals. He was just 14 years old at the time.

According to reports, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man City were all interested in signing the 15-year-old, but they are set to miss out on his signature, with Metz reaching an agreement to sign yet another talented young Senegalese star from Generation Foot.